Well, my opinions were shot down quickly haha. Many points have been proven here, but I still stand by my original thoughts. This has brought about a great discussion though, and that's exactly what I was looking for.

Never really paid attention to that.....but I imagine you could find some great ending tracks and some bad ones....but I don't think there is any reason to think that classic prog or modern prog either is 'plagued' by bad ending tracks....just lighthouse keepers.

I firmly and loudly disagree with the sentiment that "It" is a bad ending. This is literally my favorite ending to any narrative album ever. It's my second-favorite Genesis track behind Carpet Crawlers. I don't care if I'm in the minority; I believe it's the point where Rael finds that which he has been lacking in the story all along: a sense of love. It's so upbeat and different because of the sense of new-found positivity that was never there before.

Is the problem that the closing tracks of some prog albums are improperly placed, or that they are just not good tracks? If you just don't like the tracks, well that's how so many albums are set up (of any genre). Best to worst in that order. If the issue is improper placement, I think more often than not, it's done rather well. Pink Floyd is quite proficient at finishing off albums. Nearly every Rush album finishes with a very good track. Dream Theater's common closing epics might not always be their best works, but they definitely suit the albums and fit nicely.

On the other hand I agree with the observations on Yes' Close to the Edge. Mike Oldfield's Ommadawn had a weak finish (not the title track, but On Horseback song). BUT, I'd say more often than not, and more often than albums from other genres and music styles, prog albums tend to have better structures and setups.

Prog is plagued with a lot of bad music period. Just because it's complex, has " profound " lyrics and has 20 different instruments plus a symphony orchestra means it's.... Wait a minute there's a recipe for bad right there. A lot of people think Tales From Topographic Oceans is bad including one guy who played on it. One guy even baled out before it was made. There's a lot of dribble especially after 1975 when it had pretty much eaten itself alive creatively. What was there after TAAB, Close To The Edge, Tarkus, Foxtrot and ITCOTCK. The big five right there. Everything else was pretty much rehash with a few unique exceptions such as GG, Focus and VDGG.

Prog is plagued with a lot of bad music period. Just because it's complex, has " profound " and has 20 different instruments plus a symphony orchestra means it's.... Wait a minute there's a recipe for bad right there. A lot of people think Tales From Topographic Oceans is bad including one guy who played on it. One guy even baled out before it was made. There's a lot of dribble especially after 1975 when it had pretty much eaten itself alive creatively. What was there afterTAAB, Close to the Edge, Tarkus, Foxtrotand ITCOCK. The big five right there. Everything else was pretty much rehash with a few unique exceptions such as GG, Focus and VDGG.

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